Getting Messages Out to Teens

How do we communicate with teenagers?  You can bet a lot of people are interested in catching their attention.  CBS news reported that companies were spending nearly $17 billion  a year marketing to kids in 2009.  And according to the New York Times, the average city dweller is exposed to over five thousand advertisements a day.  This makes it hard for agencies with a public service announcement and limited budget to send out a message with an impact.

Over the summer, two public agencies in our region made news for their outreach to teens.  One was the Seattle Police presence at Hempfest and another was an anti-smoking campaign by the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

Our guests for the discussion on how some are getting their public service messages to teens lately are:

• Miae Aramori, Program Manager of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Environmental Health Division
• Dr. Bruce Pinkleton, Professor at Washington State University’s Edward R Murrow College of Communication and Associate Director of the Murrow Center for Media and Health Promotion Research.
• Pre-recorded excerpts of an interview with Detective Mark Jamieson at the Seattle Police Department were included.

Resources:

• Seattle Police Department blotter post titled marijwhatnow?
• Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department’s Suck On This campaign
• Reel Grrls, a local non-profit that teaches media literacy and media-making
• Northwest Center for Excellence in Media Literacy

Click here to Listen to the Interview